CAPTAIN Michael Vaughan insists there is more to come from history-making England after they stretched their winning run to eight Test matches by beating South Africa.

CAPTAIN Michael Vaughan insists there is more to come from history-making England after they stretched their winning run to eight Test matches by beating South Africa.

The tourists became the first England side in more than 125 years of Test cricket to win eight successive matches when they rattled off the 49 runs required to complete a seven-wicket victory at St George's Park.

Man-of-the-match Andrew Strauss hit the winning runs as England took just 9.4 overs to complete their triumph and establish a 1-0 lead in the five-Test series.

England beat the forecast storms which arrived just a couple of hours after the victory celebrations, with Strauss finishing unbeaten on 94, having shared an unbroken 95-run stand with Graham Thorpe, who made 31 not out.

Captain Vaughan believes England will face more determined opposition in the next Test at Durban, which starts on Boxing Day.

And he challenged his players to lift their level of play as they chase a victory which would make them only the fifth side in the history of the game to win nine successive Tests.

"I thought we deserved to win this Test, but if we're honest - and we are quite an honest team - we didn't play to our potential," said Vaughan.

"We realised South Africa were there for the taking after the second day, and we didn't quite nail home the advantage and win in a comfortable fashion, which we should have done.

"The most important thing for us now is to go to Durban and perform to the standard we've set ourselves throughout the year. I'd like for us to improve on the performance here and if we do that we'll certainly put South Africa under pressure.

"I'd like to see us go 2-0 up in Durban and make sure we're dominating the series, but that's going to take a lot of mental work and a lot of hard work because we're led to believe the temperature in Durban is very hot at the minute, so that means it's going to be a tough Test match."

Vaughan was particularly pleased with the manner in which England bounced back from their humiliating seven-wicket defeat against South Africa A in Potchefstroom.

"Leading into the game we were under a lot of pressure," Vaughan said.

"A lot of people were saying we were under-cooked. In addition, we were coming off seven straight wins, so the pressure was there.

"For us to win this game and most importantly go 1-0 up shows there is a hell of a lot of character in the England team.

"It's very hard to play a 100 per cent game, but there are periods of play, especially in this game, when we were shoddy and that mustn't happen again.

"You also have to allow for the fact that South Africa will come back strongly. They're a tough team with plenty of good characters, and I'm sure they'll hit us hard in Durban."

He urged his country's cricketing authorities to follow England's example by providing some stability to allow the national team to flourish. South Africa have had four coaches and convenors of selectors in the last five years.

"We're a young team and there has to be some stabilising in South African cricket," said Smith. "From selection, to the coach, right the way down to areas in the team, we need to stabilise."

He added: "This England team have gone down a long and hard road together and now they are reaping the rewards, but one or two wins or one or two key days for us can really make a difference and this Test series has still got a hell of a long way to go."

South Africa were due to announce their squad for the next Test this morning.

OpenerHerschelle Gibbs, who has been suffering with a finger injury, is expected to return.

Fast bowler Andre Nel, who injured his back in July, may also be considered, and is also likely to play domestic cricket tomorrow, while spinner Nicky Boje is almost certain to return having made a recovery from a thyroid operation.

But South Africa do still not yet know whether all-rounder Jacques Kallis, unable to bowl in this Test because of an ankle problem, will be able to contribute with the ball, although he did spend an hour testing out the injury after the game was completed.